Nahualli Animal Oracle - tarot decks

Price: US $14.48

ProductID: alt0441

The Nahualli Animal Oracle is a serious oracle deck honouring animal energies, and their links with Aztec religion and

civilisation. The artwork on the 39 cards is in primitive style.

Specifications

Name

Nahualli Animal Oracle

Creators

Caelum Rainieri,
Ivory Andersen,
Raphael Montoliu

Publisher

Inner Traditions

Deck Type

Oracle Deck

Cards

39

Reviews
go! The outer box is well constructed, with an inner
box that slides out (from the side), with a grove in
the middle for the cards, and room to place the book
above that. The base color of the box is an intense dark
blue, with a full color animal graphic on the
front.

The cards themselves (a deck of 39 cards) are of good
quality, non-glossy card stock. Care will have to be taken
in working with the cards so as not to bend or tear
them. The cards are 3 1/2" by 5", which make them a bit
large for small hands. The backs of the cards have a
brownish-red border, followed by a smaller gold border.
Although the book does not address this, it appears to me
that the bottom graphic on the back of the card (done
is brownish-red) is meant to represent the steps of
an Aztec temple. Following that is an area of dark
blue, followed by an area of intense yellow. Seated on
top of the blue area, and surrounded by the yellow
area is a brownish-red circle that most likely is meant
to represent the sun.

The face of the cards contains
the same borders as the back of the cards. The middle
of the card depicts the animal energy of the card,
often with a graphic above that. At the bottom of the
card is the card number and the name of the animal
energy represented.

The coloring used in the deck is
vivid and bright - lots of oranges, reds, yellows and
greens dominating the graphics. I am not an artist, but
the way that I would describe the style of these cards
is primitive. Quite often the animals take on human
characteristics. A few of my favorite cared are the Coyote (quite
interesting - we see the Coyote in mid air, as if he were
flying, carrying a human literally by the seat of his
pants!); Deer (who appears, facing us, with front feet held
up in the air and kneeling on on knee); Eagle (who
appears as a warrior, walking as if in a human stance) and
Jaguar (who appears looking more like a monkey than a
cat, seated with front feet in the air).

The book that
accompanies the deck is indeed a book - 6" by 9", 183 pages. I
always look at the deck before the book, so by the time I
got to the book I already knew that I loved the deck!
I work with many different energies, and animal
energy is one of the foremost energies that I access. I
was thrilled to see that the authors were serious in
their presentation of both the book and the cards. This
was not a project that was thrown together at the last
minute so that it could go to publication. The authors
state that they work with animal energy in their own
lives, and that they teach others to do the same. The
book and the deck have evolved over time, as all things
that are meant to stay do, in my humble opinion.

The
authors give three manifestos that they wished this deck
and book to achieve:

1. To improve our understanding,
respect and appreciation for animals as unique emotional
and spiritual individuals;

2. To honor the Aztec
civilization for its many accomplishments, and

3. To resurrect
and authentic oracle of the Aztec religion as an
instrument for obtaining wisdom, guidance and insight into
everyday affairs. *

The deck, as one might now surmise, is
based on the Aztec religion. Nahualli is the Aztec term
for "shadow soul", the animal double of the human
soul. It was the belief of the Aztecs that animals were
sacred beings that shared the earth with the gods long
before humankind came into being. In the Aztec world, on
the fourth day after a child was born the family would
be visited by a priest, who would determine the
nahualli, or animal nature that was to be the lifelong
companion for the child. The energy of the nahualli would
teach and protect the child over their lifetime, helping
them in the physical and spiritual worlds. This was an
highly respected, intense energy bonding.

I am one who
loves to see charts, and this book not only has the need
for charts, but presents them in a highly organized,
readable fashion. The first chart shows the general rules
for the pronunciation of the Nahautl language. This is
followed by two charts - one for the Lords of the Day and
one for the Lords of the Night, with their names,
titles, card number and oracle meaning. Following this is
a chart of the nahualli (animals), with their name,
card number and oracle meaning. My little Capricorn
self was in seventh heaven!

There is a brief section
going into the Aztec religion, the pantheon of gods and
the Lords of Day/Night. This is good background for
both understanding and using this deck. The discussion
then goes into the purpose of the nahualli, and what
place this animal energy serves in our life. The
nahualli functions as a teacher, protector, ally, advocate
and inner spirit. The more we work with our nahualli,
the closer the bond. The closer we are bonded to our
personal animal spirit, the more it will be able to teach
and guide us. This is not a once a month connection -
out animal guides, if we chose to honor and work with
them, are with us 24/7, in every aspect of our
lives.

Now we get into how to determine our personal
nahualli. There is yet another really "cool" chart that
gives the days of the week, and the hours of the day.
Associated with each day, and with each hour within the day,
are specific animals. Find the day of week you were
born, and the hour that you were born, and there is your
nahualli! Not sure of the specific day of the week you were
born on? There is a link given to an Internet site
that will determine this for you. I checked - the site
is there and it does work. However, using this
method, my nahualli is the Vulture, and I am not too sure
that I am pleased with this! LOL There is another
method given, where the cards are fanned out and one card
is chosen energetically (by passing your hand over
the fanned out cards). Either method may be used. My
gut instinct is to go with the animal that has already
shown themselves to be a motivating force in my life,
and you may well choose to do the same.

The
presentation of the animal energies is very well thought out.
Each card presentation gives the card name, the
keyword, a discussion of the animal energy, and upright and
reversed meanings. From the book:

22 - Jaguar

Keywords:
Power, Authority, COurage, Twilight

The Jaguar is the
most mysterious, most revered, and most successful
predator in Central and South America. Jaguar symbolized
the might of Tezcatlipoca, the greatest of the Aztec
gods. Not only was he Tezcatlipoca's nahualli, but he
was also a god in his own right - Tepeyollotl (Heart
of the Mountain). In Aztec cosmology, the first epoch
was known as the Jaguar Sun.

Mythology attests to
Jaguar's great power and courage. It is said that Jaguar
leapt into a tremendous fire built by the gods, and
emerged unharmed but for the scorch marks that he now
bears. The Mexica believed that as the First Sun came to
a close, the humans were destroyed by a race of
giants, who were in turn consumed by the Jaguars.

The
Jaguar's spotted pelt is often compared to the wonderful
night sky, lit up with its incredible array of
constellations. The mystical connotations of this nocturnal hunter
are often associated with the underworld, the molten
fire, the tremendous liquid heat of the center of the
earth. The transfiguration of the black Jaguar Black
Tecatlipoca, a form of the Greek underworld god Pluto or the
Roman Dis.

When Jaguar appears in your reading, there
is great power at work on a subliminal or
subconscious level. Your conscious mind is often unaware of the
workings of your deep mind, but trust that there is a
hurricane brewing under the surface and that all the courage
and power you need are yours. Authority emanates from
your very soul, and t hose around you can feel its
pulse. The outward manifestation of this authority may
take some time to develop. It will be felt before it is
seen, but others will react to its invisible presence
just the same. This time will serve as a measuring
stick in determining who is your ally and who is not,
for those who sincerely want the best for you will
appreciate your newfound power in a favorable and supportive
way, offering encouragement and respect. Those who have
low self-esteem or low self-worth will tend to feel
threatened by this inner power of yours and might find
reasons to avoid you or may deliberately act against you
in surreptitious ways. It's unlikely that they will
be directly aggressive, so learn to become more
sensitive to the unspoken language of others. Pay attention
to how others conduct themselves with body language,
facial expression, and tone of voice in addition to
noting what they say and what they don't say. This will
serve you well during the season of Jaguar's work in
your life.

Jaguar's presence not only evidences inner
power, but it is an extremely auspicious sign for
external success. His close affiliation with the Sun
promises a favorable outcome in the issues that have been
in your thoughts of late. Jaguar is Nature's most
successful hunter, literally at the top of the food chain,
and offers the same degree of accomplishment for you.
The accompanying requirement is that you must claim it
as your own and use this power with integrity and
grace, applying it with the focus of your mind and the
sincerity of your heart to access your true self, your
highest goals, and your best resolve.

Contrary Meaning:

Contrary Jaguar is power gone awry. It's power perverted by
fear, doubt or anxiety. Remember: an animal totem is a
channel that can be directed by your heart. If your heart
is gripped by self-doubt or self-loathing, fear, or
rage, Jaguar's power will contribute to and strengthen
that negative energy. Of, on the other hand, your
conscious mind can sense that this nocturnal hunter is near
you, then use this time to focus on overcoming your
fears, doubts and whatever negativity you may be
projecting onto others. **

The end of the book goes into how
to ready ones self for a reading - how to approach
the cards for best results, how to work in a humble
manner with intent and purpose. Several different spreads
are provided, along with sample readings for each
one.

There is an important difference between this deck and
other animal oracles. In using these cards to access the
nahualli energy, you are asked to fulfill your part of the
"agreement" - to find a way not only to access and work with
your nahualli, but to find a way to honor them by
working with efforts to preserve wildlife, to support and
protect them.

The epilogue, by Marc Bekoff, goes into the
magic of the animal world, and how our world needs to be
reflective of their needs as well as our own. This sets the
tone for my recommendation re this oracle: it is a
powerful gateway into another world. If you choose to walk
this path, please do so with humbleness, integrity and
honor.